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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. scale — in music
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wax — to grow
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. race — a contest
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — humankind
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cap — a hat

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com